Tuesday, March 31, 2009

So today I decided to hop on my bicycle and ride to Jamaica Pond, in hopes on maybe taking a few Polaroids of the area for a project I am working on for my History of Landscape, Place and Space in Art class. I am doing a long term journal project for the class where I keep frequent journal entries on the space, and how it changes, develops, etc. along with bi-weekly assignment s for the journal.

I figured I would do an entire loop of the pond and just see what comes to me. My goal was to capture five interesting pictures, but to not look so hard for them. As a photographer, I tend to over think the visuals I want, and try too much to find the perfect scenario for my images. this time around, I just wanted to observe as I wondered around, and really take in the space for once, something I had not done in Jamaica Pond since about 2007 when I was running frequently there.

The six images below are my experience at Jamaica Pond, on this slightly chilly night. They are what I was able to observe and appreciate about the space without having to look for it. If this was any other night, these images would be completely different, representing a complete different experience. I am learning more and more to understand each encounter and interaction with the people and spaces around me differently, treating each uniquely. These images, though not the best quality since Polaroid does not cooperate well at dusk/night, are just a brief encounter of my curiosity with the spaces I may sometimes take for granted.

Hard to tell from this photo above, but that tree laying on the ground has been cut up into several sections then laid together to look intact. I thought that was kind of strange. Also that apartment building is the only one that hangs over the pond, sitting on our shoulders. From some views, you can also see the Prudential off in the distance. Enough to remind us that were still in the city.

That white glow in-between the trunks of that tree is an Albino Squirrel. It was really strange cause just last night I had googled Jamaica Pond +Art to see if I could find any artwork or maybe poetry about the pond itself. After stumbling upon an article about a sculpture installed (without permission) by Matthew Henceman in Jamaica Pond, I found a link to his Blog that had a post on it with a picture of the Albino Squirrel from Jamaica Pond. For some reason, I thought it was photo-shopped and therefore not real. Sometimes I don't know why I'm so quick to be so close minded. But sure enough, I'm not even there five minutes and here comes this adorable little critter, scurrying around the branches and such. There was one moment where he sort of spazzed out and jetted right towards me, running just past my feet and up the a tree. I was literally scared for my life momentarily.

Normally there is nothing too unusual about the mark of where a tree was chopped down, but for some reason this stuck out to me. It's not something you see too often at the Pond, or at least for a tree this size. Maybe part of what was strange was there seemed to be no reason for the park to need that space clear of a large tree. But who knows, it could of been knocked down by lightening. These things happen.

Somethings are better left as visuals memories, and should be left to represent just that.

Graffiti on a tree is another strange thing to me. From the ages of 14-19 I was heavily into graffiti when I lived in Chicago. There, it was considered "wack" if you tagged in the alleys. I can't imagine the word that would be used to describe someone tagging on a tree. or maybe I can imagine such a word.

this sign, bolted to the ground, was just adjacent to the actual water. It's also upside down so that you would not really be able to read it anyways unless you got on the rocks that lead into the water. Its to old to and rusted to make sense of it anyways.